GALLERIES
Getting ready for paint prep
when she sees this shot. All done!
Getting ready for paint prep
Maiden Voyage
-Mendocino National Forest
Our first outing takes and our newly driveable Rig to the edges of The Mendocino National Forest in her first outing. We wanted to test the XJ someplace reasonably close, in case something was missed during reassembly (just kidding).
Here's more info on our destination:
The Mendocino National Forest is located in the Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California and comprises 913,306 acres (3,696 km2). It is the only national forest in the state of California without a major paved road entering it.
In 1902 the first surveys of public domain lands were conducted by Professor Lachie of the University of California, Berkeley, working under the direction of Gifford Pinchot, Chief of the United States Forest Service, to determine what land should be included in a forest reserve.
In 1905 the U.S. Congress moved the reserves from the General Land Office in the Department of the Interior to the new Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture. The Division of Forestry became the U.S. Forest Service.
Sunday Drivers
-El Dorado National Forest
Living in Northern California has it's perks. Relative to many places we have lots of accessible areas to check out. With the Rig finally put back together, and with one successful trip under our belt we couldn't wait to get back out.
A couple of weeks after The Maiden Voyage, we went out to breakfast and were discussing the build, and what we wanted to do. It was a beautiful day, and a short time later we found ourselves driving up to our preferred entry point for The El Dorado National Forest.
The forest was established on July 28, 1910 from a portion of Tahoe National Forest and other lands and has a high density of transportation routes, with 2,367 miles (3,809 km) of roads, and 349 miles (562 km) of trails. Roads under Forest Service jurisdiction total 2,158 miles (3,473 km). There are 209 miles (336 km) of county roads, and 400 miles (640 km) of private roads within the National Forest boundaries.
There are worse ways to spend a Sunday morning.
The Build
See the build of our rig here, in images.
Some of our Suppliers and/or Sponsors are:
Dog Days
-Toiyabe National Forest
Dog Valley- Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Dog Valley provides excellent opportunities to get away.
Forest, meadows, and streams make up Dog Valley’s landscape, creating a cool and refreshing retreat for this popular recreation area. As you enter Dog Valley from Verdi, you will see the recovery from the 1994 Crystal Fire with displays of mahala mat, silvery lupine, and chokecherry.
We got away from it all and had a great adventure!
...and all I got was wrapped up around this tree...
Wendy taking a look at the following days' itinerary
Leaving is always sad- but we love it so much we'll definitely be back!
...and all I got was wrapped up around this tree...
Dem Hills
-Alabama Hills Rec Area
The Alabama Hills were named for CSS Alabama. When news of the Confederate warship's exploits reached prospectors in California sympathetic to the American Civil War Confederates, they named many mining claims after the ship, and the name came to be applied to the entire range.
The area is a popular filming location for TV and movies. Recent productions such as Tremors and Joshua Tree, were filmed at "movie ranch" sites known as Movie Flats and Movie Flat Road.
In Gladiator, actor Russell Crowe rides a horse in front of the Alabamas, with Mount Whitney in the background, for a scene presumably set in Spain. Star Trek Generations was filmed here in addition to Overton, Nevada and Paramount Studios. This range was one of the filming locations for Disney's Dinosaur. More recently, many parts of the films Iron Man and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were filmed here.
During this next adventure we have a crap-load of gear to take a look at for you:
GoPro Hero3 Black Edition
First, we get our Geek on with the GoPro Hero3 Black Edition. Our destinations and planned activities will make a perfect setting to run the Camera & gear through their paces- we can't wait!
Next, we'll be testing out a new tool in our kit- the Fiskars X7 Hatchet. Fairly-important as we're not taking any wood with us and we'll need to rely on dead/downed fuel.
Fiskars X7
Our final (and definitely most relaxing) reviews will be to help address one of the major needs of anyone who camps- a reasonably restful base to recuperate on after your day in the wilderness- in other words, mattresses.
Canyon Combo SUV Quickbed
This time around we're taking a look at both the Coleman Canyon Airbed Combo, as well as the Coleman SUV Quickbed.
Will this gear stand up to the test of Crater Lake, the Umpqua National Forest, and The WorkMonkeys?
Stay tuned & find out!
What's Next:
Papoose Flats / Mazourka Peak
-INYO Mountain Range, CA
Before Euro-Americans came to the area, Paiute Indians spent the summer and fall in the Inyo Mountains gathering pinyon nuts and killing game for the winter, which they spent in the Owens Valley.
This trail leaves High Sierra #45: Saline Valley Road and travels along a single vehicle width trail into the Inyo Mountains to Papoose and Badger Flats, areas used extensively by the Paiute.
Top Elevation: 9,500 Feet
Just outside of Big Pine, CA
Life. Unpaved.
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